Tourism and Leisure at the Border

Call for Participation

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The social and cultural practices that constitute tourism and leisure have a deep connection to borders. Crossing boundaries is intrinsic to many of the movements of tourism and leisure: from home to abroad, from the familiar to the exotic, from routine to the exception, and from work to free time. From symbolic transformations that we often describe with metaphors of border crossings to the more material realities of borders as obstacles, filters, funnels and attractions, borders influence touristic experiences and mobilities in a myriad of ways.

Borders also structure the production of tourism and leisure, its regulation, its economic impact and significance. As an economic domain often heavily relied on for post-industrial transformation (also in the Greater Region), it is exposed regularly to crisis (such as war, terrorism and health threats) while also highly resilient, rebounding with a vengeance since Covid, with tourism in some places becoming “overtourism”, and being perceived as crisis itself.

With this in mind, this UniGR-CBS Workshop brings together researchers in the Greater Region who work on tourism and leisure. The aim is to strengthen existing connections and create new ones. Thematically, we want to address potentials and challenges of (cross-borders) tourism for the Greater Region, but also look more conceptually at the linkages of tourism experience, borders and mobilities.

We therefore invite contributions on any of the following topics and beyond:

  • The challenges of measuring tourism flows, visitor numbers and particularly (cross border) day trippers in the Greater Region 

  • The role of tourism in extending or ameliorating center-periphery dynamics in the socio-economic stratification of the Greater Region 

  • Cross border and cross region competition and cooperation in tourism destination management

  • Physical borders (and their materialities) as tourist attractions

  • Shared heritage in the Greater Region (Roman legacies, wine cultivation, etc.)

  • The persistence and/or erosion of borders in the Greater Region via tourism and leisure

  • The status and relevance of the conceptual borders that constitute tourism such as dualities of leisure and work, here and there, exception and routine.

We look forward to receiving proposals for contributions from existing or envisioned research on these and similar topics. These contributions can take the form of traditional abstracts but may also be proposals for discussions and round tables. Please send your proposals to tourismusgeouni-trierde by 01 June 2026. 

 

Technicalities: 

The workshop will take place from midday on the 30 September to midday on the 01 October 2026 at the geography department of Trier University. As a UniGR-CBS event, travel expenses can be covered by the home institution of participants. Catering will be provided by UniGR-CBS Trier. The conference language will be English. 

Further information about the conference schedule will be available once registration opens.